Ares I

Soban's eyes opened slowly and the first thing he saw was a blinding sun. It was blisteringly bright out. He squinted and sat up slowly. Suddenly, he felt someone embrace him and his body tensed up.

"Finally, you're awake," Aella said happily.

"Aella?" Soban called out, confused by the light.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault," Aella said, now holding back tears.

Soban was instantly reminded of the event. His rage built up but he quelled it quickly. He stood and dusted himself off. His skin lightened and he manifested a shirt in his hands. He quickly put it on and walked away from Aella.

"Forget about it," he said.

Aella dropped her head and put her hands together.

"The Lunar force guides us, Disappear," she said somberly.

"Aella!" Anubis yelled.

Aella vanished instantly. Anubis left the wheel of the ship and jumped down.

"Don't worry, she's just in a separate dimension, but she is still on this boat," Soban said.

Anubis scoffed and removed his headdress and placed it on an altar. Soban sat next to the pilot's chair and pulled his knees into his chest. He tried to fight back tears to seem tough in front of his older brother. Anubis could tell Soban was hurting and he walked back to the pilot's chair.

"Anubis, when will I get my headdress?" Soban asked.

Anubis chuckled and rubbed his hand on Soban's head. Soban shook him off and Anubis just smiled.

"When you ascend to a class four god it will be automatically granted during your year 4 to you, why?" Anubis asked.

"I want revenge," Soban replied quickly.

"I figured."

"I need you to train me."

"It will take a long time and I just graduated to become a class four god. I'm not sure that I'm the best one to train you," Anubis said hesitantly.

"I don't care, I'm a class one and I will learn fast, I promise you, I will listen to everything you say," Soban said desperately.

"You are no match for Ra, no one is," Anubis said bluntly.

"I will become class seven then kill him, I know it."

"Ra is above class ten, he is one of a few gods even able to achieve that level," Anubis said with a laugh.

Soban's eyes widened and he slammed his hand into the ground. He raised his head and looked at Anubis.

"I will get allies then, plenty of people hate Ra," Soban said excitedly.

"Many hate him, no one will oppose him," Anubis corrected.

"Zeus will."

Anubis laughed intensely loud and he pushed Soban over playfully.

"Zeus will kill you on the spot," Anubis said.

"No he won't. Set a course for Mount Olympus."

"How will you even get close to him?"

"I will stay in Greek form the whole time," Soban said cockily.

Soban turned away from Anubis in anger and sighed.

"I won't be able to protect you; I won't even be able to take you past the base of the mountain," Anubis warned.

Aella reappeared and walked closer to Soban and Anubis.

"I'll teleport him to the city below Olympus, Mars, city of Ares," Aella said.

"Not a great idea," Anubis warned.

Anubis tilted his head in her direction and smiled.

"We will pass through the city and make our way up to the city of Olympus, nothing will happen. Ares used to be my combat trainer, he will not have any issues with me," Aella said.

"If there are any issues, you instantly come back, got it?" Anubis ordered.

Aella nodded and Soban stood and held her hand. Aella said a few words and they were off in a blue flash. Anubis stopped the Mandjet and kept it high in the sky. He got up from his seat and sat on the ground and he began to meditate. Darkness swirled around him and he floated off the ground.

Aella teleported into an alleyway and Soban was right next to her. Soban quickly shifted into his Greek form. He did a short spell and changed his clothes into a sleeveless short chiton with a blue swirl pattern on it.

"Do I look ok?" Soban asked.

"You look fine, let's be careful, a certain evil person is here, he might call you out in an instant based on the most minor of things," Aella said, brushing dust off of her chiton, a dress-like outfit that was tied at the waist.

"Evil person?" Soban asked.

"Mama always told me to stay away from the man who was champion of all heroes and demigods, the demi god stronger than most gods, Hercules," Aella said with fear.

"I know about him, he is the one who captured the great sphinx single handedly, something impossible for even father," Soban said.

"He frequently walks these streets; let's watch out for him, okay," she ordered.

Soban nodded and they both walked out to the street. Right as they stepped out, Soban crashed into a man wearing a dark red robe with a gold tree-branch-like design all over it. Soban was knocked over and the man looked down at him. Aella looked up and her eyes opened wide in shock.

"Ares…" she said quietly.

"What luck," Soban whispered.

Ares was a young looking giant of a man, at least six and a half feet tall. His hair was long and brown and his skin was lightly tanned with one long scar on his right arm. There were guards all around him and they were all in a panic because someone had come in contact with Ares. They all raised their swords and ran forward. Ares quickly raised his arm and they all stopped and bowed while walking back.

"Aella," Ares said, his voice deep and calm.

"Yes, Lord Ares?" Aella said and bowed.

"Where have you been? I have missed you!" Ares said cheerily.

Soban was shocked. He continued to sit in awe at the God of War that stood before him. Ares looked back down at him and smiled. He reached out his arm and lifted Soban up with a quick jerk.

"Sorry for knocking you down, but you should be happy, most demigods that come into contact with me die due to the intensity of my power. You must be special," Ares said and patted Soban on the back.

"T-thank you," Soban said, shyly looking away.

Ares laughed loudly and swatted Soban on the back a bit harder.

"Don't be shy! You have great power, kid!" Ares bellowed and grinned.

Aella was stunned by Ares' acceptance of her brother.

"What is your name, boy?" Ares hollered.

Soban knew he couldn't give his Egyptian name but didn't know any Greek names so he used his nickname and hoped Ares wouldn't make a connection.

"I have no name, I'm called the Hybrid," Soban replied.

"Interesting, what school do you belong to?" Ares asked again.

Soban froze, he had no idea what Ares was talking about. He started stammering to buy some time.

"The good one," Soban replied hesitantly.

"Stop joking, he means none. We left Athena's city, Minerva, to seek out a new school, the school of Wisdom wasn't right for him so he wanted to seek a different type of training," Aella said quickly.

"Come to my school! I will even give you some special lessons!" Ares said, excitement clear in his voice.

"Training? From the God of War himself?" Soban asked with excitement.

"Yes, I'll even give you a lesson right when I get back to my coliseum,"

Soban was filled with excitement and nodded his head repeatedly. He knew the plan was to talk to Zeus but preferred his sister's idea of getting training. He figured she was listening to his talk with Anubis.

"Let's go, I'm excited to get started. The last student I had, not counting the few sessions with Aella here was over twenty-six years ago," Ares said.

Soban and Aella began walking with Ares and after a few minutes went by, they walked by a large man with tremendous muscles wearing a long blue cape. He was almost double the width of Ares. Aella nudged Soban and he looked over at her. Her eyes were filled with fear and she uttered a name quietly.

"Hercules."

Soban didn't look back and Aella quickly averted her gaze away from him. Hercules watched them walk by and didn't move.

"Looks like he didn't see a problem," Soban said quietly.

"Who, Hercules?" Ares asked.

"Yes," Soban said regretfully, not realizing that Ares could hear him.

"He is a brute of a demigod, never go anywhere near him," Ares warned.

"Yes, Lord Ares," Soban said.

A few minutes of walking later they arrived at a massive coliseum. There were three massive statues of Ares, each at least one hundred feet tall and each was in a different pose. They walked in and the coliseum was empty. Only large, twenty foot gray birds were there. Perched high up on the edge of the stadium, they watched the group enter.

"Here we are, looks like all my students are here," Ares said and raised his arms proudly.

Ares snapped his fingers and a large chest appeared. He opened it and there were various types of weapons in it. He picked up two short swords and dulled their sharp edges by bending the edge with his fingers. Soban's eyes widened with shock. Ares tossed one to him and Soban awkwardly caught it. He felt its weight and he lifted it with both hands.

"Let me gauge your strength with a quick battle of swords," Ares said with a grin on his face.

Ares jumped toward Soban and swung his blade. Soban quickly brought the blade up and blocked it. The power of Ares was too strong and Soban was sent tumbling through the air. Ares ran and caught Soban in midair.

"Whoa, sorry, I used a bit too much strength there, I nearly turned you into a kite," Ares said.

Soban was dizzy and wobbled a bit when he was set on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man sitting in the stadium that wasn't there before. It was Hercules. Soban quickly regained his composure and raised his sword promptly.

"Again," Soban said.

"Oh, a student with mettle, I like this," Ares said with glee.

Ares charged once more, this time a bit slower. He swung and Soban ducked in and jabbed the blade forward towards Ares' stomach. Ares quickly spun his wrist and parried Soban's attack effortlessly. Soban was spun around but he caught himself from falling and quickly charged forward once more. He lifted the blade over his head and swung down at Ares' leg.

"Horrible form!" Ares yelled.

He blocked Soban's shot and put the blade to his neck. Soban froze and Ares noticed the rage in his eyes.

"Hybrid, I have two questions," Ares said.

"Ask them, Lord Ares."

"Why do you fight with such rage?"

Soban was shocked and didn't know how to respond. After some thought, Soban decided to tell the truth, to an extent.

"I want to kill a god, as revenge for my mother's death," Soban replied.

"A bold goal it is to kill a god. What god?" Ares asked.

"Ra."

Ares was silent. He looked Soban over and realized he was serious.

"An ever-greater goal!" Ares yelled.

Soban smiled and looked down at his feet.

"Now for the other question, what is your main weapon? You look like you have never even held a sword before," Ares asked.

Soban tried to come up with a lie in order to excuse his Flail weapon specialty. He looked at Ares who was smiling at him.

"When I saw Ra kill my mother, I decided to use Egyptian weapons to kill an Egyptian god. So I decided to use a crook and flail," Soban said hesitantly.

Hercules shook his head and left the coliseum. Soban, Aella and even Ares were all relieved.

"Interesting weapon choice, I shall have some specially made for you by Hephaestus," Ares said.

"I have my own stolen from a warrior, they were crafted by Ptah so I think that might be sufficient," Soban lied.

"Ptah is an equally skilled craftsman, very well then, show me the weapon," Ares ordered kindly.

Soban raised his arms and a crook and flail were summoned into his hands. The crook was a short pole that had an end that curved inwards like a cane. The flail was another short pole but it had a hinge connected to three smaller poles. Soban hopped back and prepared himself.

"Those are no ordinary weapons; those are from the strongest warrior of the Pharaoh Guard, Tutankhamen," Ares said with amazement.

"How did you know?" Soban asked.

"The pattern of green and black, that and it radiates dark magic. The crook has the ability to summon the five elements and is the greatest shield, the flail is used as a weapon and it controls the element the crook summons. I fought Tutankhamen several times and he always kept me at bay with it, how do you have them?" Ares explained then asked.

Soban tried to lie but he thought of nothing. He began to panic and Ares noticed this. Ares dropped his friendly demeanor and lowered his sword. Ares burst forward and picked up Soban. He created a barrier around him and Soban. Soban was shocked and felt himself losing consciousness.

"Who are you, show your true self," Ares ordered, his voice echoing through the coliseum.

"Soban!" Aella yelled.

Ares waved his hand and she instantly passed out.

"Show me!" Ares screamed.

Soban was fading so he decided to risk it.

"I am….Soban…the Hybrid," Soban struggled to say.

Ares dropped him instantly. His angry face turned back into one of happiness.

"Truth is a must, young Egyptian. Now then, where were we?" Ares said.

Soban coughed repeatedly, trying to regain feeling in his body.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Soban asked after some time.

"Why would I? I'm your new teacher, I can't kill my first student in decades. Plus, you plan on killing Ra so it's even sweeter," Ares said while adding two more layers to the barrier surrounding his arena.

Soban bowed and scooped up his weapons. He stood slowly while rubbing his neck to relieve the soreness.

"Show me your Egyptian form," Ares ordered.

Soban quickly shifted and his skin darkened slightly. His milky white eyes turned black.

"Here," Soban said.

Ares walked around Soban and observed him.

"Who are your mother and father?" Ares asked.

"Hecate and Set."

"So, Hecate died then? What a shame, did she at least give Ra a good fight? She is one of the strongest goddesses we have...had. She nearly replaced Hera in the Olympians before she stopped trying around twelve years ago, I'm guessing that's when you were born," Ares explained as he slowly walked around.

This knowledge made Soban happy for some reason. He smiled and glanced at the mark on his arm, the last thing he had of his mothers.

"Set on the other hand, he is a vicious god of chaos, I nearly captured him once but his mastery of the darkness was too much for me to actually get a hold of him, that slimy desert slug," Ares explained.

Soban rarely saw Set after he started directly working for Ra. Anubis had been the one who took care of him. He preferred it that way, his father had scared him for as long as he remembered. Anubis had a scary side but to his brother he was nothing but nice.

"If I can stay here, can my brother come too?" Soban asked.

"Who is he?" Ares asked skeptically.

"Anubis, student of Osiris," Soban said proudly.

"Interesting, how will he get here?" Ares asked.

"He has the Mandjet, we stole it and the sun disk from Ra," Soban said.

Ares' eyes widened before he broke out laughing. He slapped Soban on the back but in his Egyptian form he was stronger than before so he was able to stand up without issues. Ares began wiping tears from his eyes.

"Is that why the sun has been so bright recently? Boy, he must be angry," Ares said.

"So can my brother come or what?" Soban asked.

"Sure, tell him to fly through the Greek lands as fast as possible, come to my coliseum and I shall catch the ship," Ares said.

"You can do that?" Soban asked skeptically.

"Don't doubt my power, I single handedly defeated all the Norse gods. I only got hit once and that was when I captured the eight legged Sleipnir," Ares said and pointed to the scar on his arm.

Soban just nodded in response. Ares took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Go back into Greek mode, I don't want anyone sensing your Egyptian powers, especially not Hercules," Ares warned.

Soban quickly changed and sighed. He felt weaker in his less used Greek form. Ares removed the barrier with a thought and with a wave of his hand he woke Aella up.

"Aella, go to Anubis and tell him to crash the Mandjet into the coliseum at top speed. Tell him that the God of War will take care of him," Ares ordered.

Aella wandered around, confused by everything. She regained her senses and realized what Ares said and teleported away. Ares turned his attention back to Soban and he grinned.

"You are about to witness quite a spectacle," Ares howled and pulled off his red robe revealing his heavily muscled body.

Ares set up a wide barrier that expanded around his coliseum. It contracted and stuck to the walls and became transparent.

"You have to have special permission to get into this level of barrier," Ares flaunted.

A few minutes later, Aella teleported into the coliseum. She ran to Ares and arrived out of breath, she had used up a lot of energy teleporting everywhere.

"He will be here any second," Aella warned.

Ares saw the orange light of the sails far off in the distance. Soban looked up and saw it as well. In an instant the ship crashed through the barrier and was on top of a single arm of Ares. Ares casually put the ship down and looked back at Soban. He smiled wide and raised his hand to seal the hole in the barrier.

"All in a day's work," Ares said with a chuckle.

The orange sails vanished and Anubis floated on a cloud of darkness down to Soban. He slowly took off his black jackal headdress and approached Ares with caution.

"Ares, God of War, how pleasant it is to be in your presence," Anubis said and raised the sun disk.

"I have heard terrible things about your power, it should be interesting seeing who you really are," Ares said.

Anubis enveloped the disk in darkness and it disappeared. Ares cocked his eyebrows in confusion.

"Forgive me, it's not that I don't like you, it's just I don't know you. So for now, I will keep this safe," Anubis said.

"When did I say I wanted it?" Ares responded, a soft smile upon his face.

"Just making sure."

"I got it. Also, move the Mandjet to a place it can be hidden," Ares ordered with a smirk.

Anubis smiled and put his headdress back on. He floated back to the Mandjet and moved the ship with a cloud of darkness to a far corner of the stadium. There was a shadow casted by the wall and Anubis sunk the ship into the shadow.

"Ares," Soban called out.

"Yes?" Ares replied happily.

Ares turned and saw Soban gathering energy. He could feel the wind pick up and brush against his skin. Fear filled Soban and Ares felt it.

"Let's get back to training," Soban said and raised his weapons.

Anubis walked from the shadows and laughed. He felt the power of Ares weigh him down but kept his cool.

"So you found a trainer, I'm glad, now I can focus on my training," he said happily.

"I figured I could train his Greek powers and you could train his Egyptian powers," Ares said with a wide smile.

Anubis shook his head and laughed once more.

"I guess that will allow me time to hone my own skills, fine we shall take turns," Anubis said.

"I get a new student for the first time in years and now I'm consorting with the 'enemy'. How exciting," Ares said and picked up his sword.

Soban readied himself as Ares walked towards him. They resumed their training for days upon days.